PARIS, November 18. /TASS/. Paris has not changed its position on allowing Kiev to use French weapons to attack deep into Russia, but such a possibility is being studied, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
"You heard what [French President Emmanuel] Macron said in May [during his trip to Germany]. At that time, it was stated that we would consider such an option regarding authorizing strikes against facilities from which the Russians are carrying out aggression against Ukrainian territory. So there is nothing new on this issue," Barrot said upon arrival at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Earlier, The New York Times reported, citing sources, that Biden had authorized strikes from Ukrainian territory deep into Russia using ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles. In turn, Le Figaro sources claimed that France and the UK had authorized strikes with SCALP and Storm Shadow tactical missiles. The article was later retracted from the newspaper's website without explanation. There has been no official confirmation of this information from Washington, Paris, or London.
On September 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed out that a potential decision to use Western long-range weapons against Russia would mean nothing less than the direct involvement of the United States and other NATO countries in the war in Ukraine. This would drastically alter the nature of this conflict, and Russia would be forced to take appropriate measures in response to the escalating threats, the Russian president warned. Putin emphasized that Ukraine would not be able to strike deep into Russian territory without Western support, as it would require satellite intelligence and flight missions to do so.